Josiah Bartlet
President Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet, Ph.D., D.Hum.Litt., was President of the United States from 1999 to 2007. He was a popular politician, having never lost an election, and winning a second term as President in a landslide. He holds a combined 36 year career in politics, starting in 1971 and ending in 2007. Sometime in 1991, Bartlet also had been diagnosed with a relapsing-remitting course of MS, or Multiple Sclerosis, for almost a decade and only a handful of other people knew (as he concealed it during the campaign and the election), but in the year 2001, he finally came out with it and told the entire world. Biography Josiah Edward Bartlet, known to people close to him as "Jed", was born in the early 1940s in New Hampshire, the elder of two sons. His great-great-great-great grandfather was Dr. Josiah Bartlett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. "My great grandfather's great-grandfather was Dr. Josiah Bartlett, who was the New Hampshire delegate to the second Continental Congress" from What Kind of Day Has It Been? While his father was a Protestant, his mother was a devout Roman Catholic. Jed was brought up in the Catholic faith and remained Catholic for the rest of his life. As a child, his brother Jon locked him in a steamer trunk. He claimed there were actually steamers in the trunk and young Jed remembered being surrounded by seafood."Yes. I remember being locked in a steamer trunk." "There were actual steamers in there with me, Charlie. I was in there with seafood." from Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail Education Every morning Jed would walk to his school from his house a short distance away with a fresh hanky in his pocket, and a spring in his step."I walked to school every morning in weather colder than this." from Inauguration: Over There (Part II) His father was the headmaster of a prestigious preparatory school. Dr. Bartlet used his position as headmaster to allow his son to enter the school."You're at the school because I'm the headmaster." from Two CathedralsWhile attending school in 1960, Bartlet got in trouble with his father for a stunt he pulled on Professor Loomis, the professor of literature at the school. Bartlet and a group of friends wrote an article condemning Loomis for banning books such as "Farenheit 451," and works by D.H. Lawrence and Henry Miller. This was one of the many times Bartlet received a slap from his father.From a scene in Two Cathedrals Their relationship would always be strained (or as Jed later categorized it, "complicated"). Bartlet received a 1590 (ten less than a perfect 1600) on his SATs. After retaking the test, he once again received a 1590."I got 800/790. For the life of me, I can't imagine what I got wrong. Then I took them again, and got 800/790. I mean, is it possible there was some sort of number-two pencil anomaly that could've...?" from Holy NightMany people, including Leo and Stanley Keyworth, thought that it was strange that he took the test again after receiving a near-perfect score. After high school, Bartlet was accepted to Harvard University, Yale University, Williams College, and the University of Notre Dame. He decided on Notre Dame because he was considering entering the clergy."You were accepted at Harvard, Yale, and Williams." from The Portland Trip According to Abbey, Bartlet speaks four languages (presumably including Latin and German); none of them, however, is FrenchThe Indians in the Lobby. University of Notre Dame Bartlet did his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre DameBartlet is seen wearing a Notre Dame sweatshirt in Five Votes Down. Bartlet's consideration about becoming a priest ended when he met his future wife, Abigail, and changed his studiesFrom a conversation with C.J. Cregg in The Portland Trip. Notre Dame, however, would have been an all-men's school at the time, thus it is likely Abigail attended Saint Mary's College, the sister institution across the street. Bartlet might have attempted to play baseball for Notre Dame, but would be noted by Toby Ziegler and Charlie Young years later as being a bad pitcher.From a conversation in Memorial Day, paraphrasing that the Notre Dame Athletic department would agree to make Bartlet wear a special pitching vest, instead of attempting pitching by himself.("Memorial Day") Bartlet "hated America's Pastime." ("Memorial Day") Bartlet graduated summa cum laude from Notre Dame with a degree in American Studies. He minored in theology."For the record, the President graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a major in American Studies and a minor in theology." from The U.S. Poet Laureate London School of Economics After Notre Dame, Bartlet was accepted into the prestigious London School of Economics. This was one of his major goals in life.According to Stanley Keyworth in Night Five When he was 26 years old, he wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers. This created an uproar in his school and he was "nearly thrown out.""When I was 26, I wrote a paper supporting the deregulation of Far East trade barriers. Nearly got thrown out of the London School of Economics. I was young and stupid, and trying to make some noise." from The Short ListRegardless of this paper, Bartlet would go on to receive an MA and eventually a doctorate from the school."He received a Masters and a Doctorate at the London School of Economics" from The U.S. Poet Laureate Economics Career Bartlet became a tenured economics professor"I am an economics professor..." from The Crackpots and These Women at Dartmouth University, which was another major goal in his lifeAccording to Stanley Keyworth in Night Five. While at Dartmouth, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters"...a Doctorate at the London School of Economics and an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Dartmouth University where he was a tenured professor." from The U.S. Poet Laureate. As a professor and researcher, Bartlet became world famous, eventually winning the Nobel Prize in Economics."Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics..." from Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc He actually "tied" with another economist from Japan for that year, a point that always annoyed him. He also wrote the book Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations (which judging from Toby Ziegler's reaction to the President's less-than-serious suggestion he talk about the book on live television, it was not a major page-turner).According to Josh Lyman in The U.S. Poet Laureate :It is likely he won the Nobel Prize while he was a politician, as he references his daughter Ellie being in third grade at the time of his award (presumably the late 1970s), and he entered politics presumably in the early 1970s. Political Career By 1971, Josiah Bartlet had been elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives"28 years ago, I come home from a very bad day at the State House." from Pilot. From the New Hampshire State House, Bartlet started his political career, and learned the basics of politics"What about state legislature? It's the place to learn. The President started there..." from Abu el Banat. Bartlet served in the House, not the US Senate, so is unaware of Senate rules. (Ref. "Grandfathers- The Stackhouse Filibuster") Bartlet ran against Republican Elliot Roush for United States House of Representatives and won."I don't know who Elliot Roush is..." "I beat him in my first Congressional campaign." from The Midterms Despite the win, Bartlet seemed to harbor resentment towards Roush due to what Bartlet perceived as a tendency to twist Scriptural teachings in order to support bigoted beliefs. Bartlet would go on to serve three terms in the House."Jed Bartlet, Nobel Laureate in Economics, three-term congressman..." from Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc Sometime in the early 1990s, Bartlet started to feel run-down and had a pain in his leg, both of which eventually went away but the pain came back about two years later, in addition to numbness. His vision would sometimes be blurry and he'd get dizzy. After an eye-exam doctor detected abnormal pupil responses, the doctor ordered an MRI and a radiologist found plaques on Bartlet's spine and brain, leading the doctors and Bartlet himself to learn that he had, and still has, a relapsing/remitting course of MS, or Multiple Sclerosis, a chronic disease of the central nervous system. And originally, including himself, only a handful of other people (at least a little over a dozen) knew he had MS, including his wife Abbey, their three daughters, his brother, the vice president, the chairman of the joint chiefs, and several other doctors. Governor of New Hampshire Bartlet served two terms as the Governor of New Hampshire."...three-term congressman, two-term Governor" from Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc He served his first term as Governor from 1991 to 1995 and his second term from 1995 to 1999"I remember a time in the Governor's mansion. It was about ten years ago..." from In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I. As Governor, Bartlet was very popular with the people of New Hampshire, and won his second term with 69% of the vote, a margin very impressive for a Democrat in the Libertarian-conservative leaning state. "I was saying, what I don't understand is you guys were such fans of the President, you loved him when he was governor." from Hartsfield's Landing He was so popular, in fact, that when he decided to later run for President of the United States, his staff encouraged him to all but ignore the New Hampshire primary as he had no chance of losing it. Governor Bartlet was for strict state seatbelt laws, but failed to act on it, because it would waste time in the state legislature."And I was for it then. Never did anything about it because nobody wanted it." from The Women of Qumar Bartlet also signed into state law the Historic Barn and Bridges Preservation Act, an act that he later regretted when it interfered with his plans for his Presidential Library. The law provided that certain barns, bridges, and other buildings more than a century old needed to be preserved. "What plaid flannel-wearing, cheese eating, yahoo of a milkman governor signed that idiot bill into state law? It was me, wasn't it?" from Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail As Governor, Bartlet had to deal with several state lawsuits."Have I ever been party to a lawsuit? I was governor of New Hampshire. Anybody who..." from Bad Moon Rising One of his primary concerns as governor was tourism. During his terms, he somewhat reluctantly approved the use of the slogan "New Hampshire, It's what's new" and increases in snowmobile and "fall foliage" tourism.From a scene in Bartlet for America He appointed Robert Nolan to the New Hampshire State Medical Board, possibly because he was a colleague of Bartlet's wife, Abbey."Yeah, they worked together for 20 years, and I was the governor who appointed him to the Board." from Dead Irish Writers Presidency :See the Bartlet Administration for more information. 1998 election :See United States presidential election, 1998 and Bartlet for America for more information. It was during the end of his governorship that Bartlet's good friend, Leo McGarry, suggested a run for the Presidency."I was thinking about the White House. I wasn't thinking about me." from Bartlet For America Governor Bartlet used his popularity to run for President, with help from his friend McGarry and Josh Lyman. He began as a "dark horse" candidate, and surprisingly gained momentum, eventually winning several important primaries.From scenes in In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II One of the most crucial victories was in Illinois, which allowed him to go and win on Super Tuesday, which Leo claims that they were "lucky" to win. Following the concession by Senator John Hoynes, the one-time front runner, Bartlet offered him the position of running mate. As he lacked a lot of knowledge about certain areas of the the presidency, and he set up a "Bartlet college" in his mansion's dining room to learn about foreign and military affairs every morning."When I was running as a governor, I didn't know anything. I made them start Bartlet college in my dining room. Two hours every morning on foreign affairs and the military." from Posse Comitatus Governor Bartlet won the 1998 election with 303 electoral votes to 228 electoral but he only won a plurality of the popular vote. "You got 303 electoral votes; I think you're stuck with them." from Memorial Day As President-Elect, Bartlet was angered that the outgoing Republican President Owen Lassiter seemed to be sticking him with a military conflict in the Philippines."The President and Admiral Fitzwallace are going to saddle me with a war in the Philippines." from Memorial Day He remarked that he would have to remember to "fire Fitzwallace," but thankfully this never came to pass. Bartlet was inaugurated as president on January 20th 1999 and was later re elected in November 2002 and inaugurated on January 20th 2003. His administration was a relative success in his first term. In May 2000 Bartlet was shot while coming out of a town hall meeting in Rosslyn, Virginia. Although not the original target of the assassins, he made a full recovery. In the spring of 2001 Bartlet announced that he suffered from relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS) which threatened his chances of being re-elected in 2002. In spite of this, Bartlet announced that he would be seeking a second term against his Republican opponent Robert Richie. After a presidential debate in which Bartlet clearly came out on top, a landslide victory was attained by the President. Bartlet's second term began on January 20th 2003. In May 2003 Vice President Hoynes resigned in the wake of a sex scandal. In late May 2003 Bartlet's youngest daughter Zoey is kidnapped. Bartlet felt that he couldn't peform his duties objectively while worrying about his daughter so he invoked the Twenty-Fifth Admendment, temporarily handing over the powers of the presidency to the next in line of succession. As the administration had no vice president at that time, the Republican Speaker of the House Glen Allen Walken was sworn in as Acting President. Zoey is eventually found alive and Bartlet resumes power three days later. In December of 2005 Bartlet, while travelling aboard Airforce One to a summit in China, is left working from a wheelchair after having a massive MS episode. He gradually regains feeling but must now walk with a cane. When, on January 20th 2007 President-Elect Matt Santos is inaugurated as the new President, Bartlet returned to his farm just outside Manchester , New Hampshire to enjoy retired life. The Josiah Bartlet Presidential Library was opened at the beginning of 2010 in Manchester, New Hampshire Religion Jed Bartlet's mother was a Roman Catholic and his father was a religious Protestant. Due to the malnature of the relationship between Bartlet and his father, Jed chose to follow the faith of his loving mother. To this day, Bartlet remains a devout Roman Catholic, attending church every Sunday. Resume Education *Phillips Exeter Academy (1956-1960) * B.A. in American Studies (minor in Theology) - University of Notre Dame (graduated summa cum laude) (1960-1964) * Masters Degree - London School of Economics (1964-1966) * Ph.D. - London School of Economics (1966-1970) * Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters - Dartmouth University (1998) Career * Professor of Economics at Dartmouth University * 1985: Nobel Laureate in Economics * Author: Theory and Design of Macroeconomics in Developing Nations Politics * 1971 - 1981: Member of the N.H. House of Representatives from Hillsborough's 44th district * 1981 - 1989: Member of the New Hampshire State Board of Education (At-large district) * 1989 - 1995: Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire's 1st district * 1995 - 1999: Governor of New Hampshire * 1999 - 2007: President of the United States of America Trivia "Jed" Bartlet was played by Martin Sheen. Although the show had an ensemble cast, the main character in the series became President Bartlet. Bartlet represents, in many ways, an "ideal liberal president," endowed with a fierce intellect, great (though not infallible) personal integrity and toughness, but tempered with essential compassion for the less fortunate and a sense of humor. Bartlet was not originally intended to be a key member of the cast. He was only meant to make occasional appearances. Alan Alda (who would play Senator Arnold Vinick), George C. Scott (the star of Patton) and Sidney Poitier were also considered for the role of President Bartlet. The MS scandal is based on the Bill Clinton Impeachment and Bartlet shares several similarities with former President Clinton. Bartlet also has similarities to John F. Kennedy. Like Kennedy, Bartlet is a New England Democrat that defeated a much more qualified competitor for the Democratic nomination that was a U.S. Senator from Texas that became Democratic floor leader in the Senate in a short period of time. In Kennedy's case this was Lyndon Johnson, in Bartlet's case it was John Hoynes. Bartlet, like Kennedy, hid a serious illness during the presidential campaign that could have prevented him from winning the Democratic primary. After winning the nomination Bartlet, also like Kennedy, had to beg his former rival to accept the vice presidency in order to get support from the South and win the general election. People Who Knew This is the list of people who originally knew Bartlet has MS, including himself. * Abbey Bartlet * Elizabeth Bartlet * Ellie Bartlet * Zoey Bartlet * Three Original Doctors * Three Original Radiologists * Jonathan Barlet * Chairman Fitzwallace * Vice President Hoynes This is the list of people who were told of Bartlet's condition throughout the series: * Leo McGarry * David Lee * Toby Ziegler * Oliver Babish * Charlie Young * Josh Lyman * C.J. Cregg * Joey Lucas * Kenny Thurman * Sam Seaborn * Donna Moss * The Entire US and possibly the Entire World Notes Bartlet, Josiah Bartlet, Josiah Bartlet, Josiah Bartlet, Josiah Bartlet, Josiah Bartlet, Josiah Category:1998 Candidates Category:Characters Category:Main Characters